The 10 Best Articles on Refugees and Migration 5/2018

February 6, 2018

In Italy, in 2018, a man (who once ran for city council with a right-wing party) has attempted to murder several migrants, and a neo-fascist party has all but supported his actions. Also: the issue of immigration in Italian election manifestos; from Triton to Themis, how rescue operations at sea are changing; how organised crime infiltrated Italy’s asylum system, and a look at what is happening in the USA.

1. What happened in Macerata?

On Saturday February 3, in Macerata, Luca Traini attempted to murder several migrants. Six people were injured in his criminal raid. He was arrested while wrapped in an Italian flag, giving the Roman salute, and is now in custody on charges of attempted murder aggravated by racism. Forza Nuova, a neo-fascist party that is running in the 2018 general elections, has expressed its sympathy to the perpetrator.

2. The issue of immigration in Italian election manifestos

The issue of immigration is central in the current Italian election campaign, and politicians on talk show are using catchphrases on how to tackle it. But what do the actual election programmes of the main parties? Read the analysis by Eleonora Camilli in Redattore Sociale.

3. From Triton to Themis, what is changing at sea?

Beginning in February, the EU border control agency Frontex is launching a new operation in the Mediterranean to patrol international waters and rescue migrants. It’s called Themis, after the Greek goddess of justice, and it will replace Triton (launched in 2014). The new operation introduces a few important changes: there is no longer an obligation to transport migrants to Italy, and patrols are limited to 24 miles off the Italian coast, down from 36. Read the explainer in Il Post and some of the criticism collected in Redattore Sociale. Meanwhile, there have been more deaths at sea: at least ninety people lost their lives in February’s first shipwreck. Also check this photo report by Giuseppe Carotenuto for Al Jazeera.

5. Minors pushed back at the border, an important court ruling (that is not enough)

Two years on from the reinstatement of border controls between Italy and France, a French court has ruled against the pushback of a minor for the first time. The ruling of the Nice court is very important, but still not enough since, as shown by a recent Intersos report, violations of human rights are still an all too frequent occurrence at the northern border. Read the article by Giacomo Zandonini in Repubblica.

6. Another perspective on the Dublin Regulation: a reform is not enough

7. The mutilated and the disappeared of Mexico

There are not many who listen to the voices of migrants in Mexico (many of whom have disappeared) or attempt to heal their wounds that will never close. Alice Driver’s report for Longreads takes us into the only shelter in Mexico for migrants who have been mutilated along the migrant trail.

8. Trump’s nominee for IOM

The Trump administration has announced its nominee to lead the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), which for decades has deferred to the United States: it is Ken Isaacs, who has in recent years expressed controversial views on Muslims and denied climate change. Read the article in the Washington Post on everything that is wrong with this nomination.

9. Towards a global compact on refugees: the Zero Draft

It’s a long and winding road to the UN global compact on refugees (parallel to the one on migrants). Now the UNHCR has released the Zero Draft, providing the basis for future negotiations: here is the text.

10. The refugee crisis isn’t about refugees. It’s about us

The so-called “refugee crisis” is a fundamental issue, part of our shared humanity. Read this poignant essay by Ai Wei Wei in the Guardian.